Tunnel kiln



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. P. A. MEEHAN TUNNEL KILN Filed March 26, 192

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' ATTORNEY Patented new. is, man.

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'rAUL A. Human, on NEW CASTLE, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIGNon'ro AMERICAN DRESS- nnn T NNEL KILNS, I1\TC., or NEW YoRK, N. Y., A CORPORATION on NEW YORK.

TUNNEL 'KILN.

Application filed March 26, 1920. Serial No. 368,887.

To all'whom it may cancer n:v

. Be it knownthat 1, PAUL A. MEEHAN, a citizen ofthe' United States, and resident of New ycastle, in the county of Lawrence and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tunnel Kilns, of'which the following is a specification. p

I have invented certain new and useful improvements in tunnel kilns, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to kilns of the type specially adapted for firing or annealing articles of glass and other material. objects of my invention are 1. To facilitate the-loading of trucks designed to carry the articles to be fired or annealed through-the kiln.

2. To preliminarily heat the goods to the required temperature before introducing them into the kiln.

3. So far as concerns the kiln proper, a construction which will permit of the generation of the highest temperature at the entrance of the kiln with a gradually diminishing temperature to the exit of the kiln.

-The accompanying drawings will serve to illustrate my invention in which Fi 1 is a -horizontal section through the ki 11 and preliminary'heating chamber;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line H-H of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line HTHI of Fig. 1.

In the drawings 5 indicates the body of the kiln, which may beof any suitable construction, and 6 the pre-heating chamber. Situated within the body of the kiln are combustion chambers 7. These combustion chambers may be of any suitable type preferably, however, they are of the kind described in the prior patent of G. Dressler,

No. 1,170,428, dated February 1, 1916.

The combustion chambers 7 are situated in the forward end of the kiln 5- and carried backwards past the median line. Their length, however, may be varied in accordance withcircumstances. Located in line with the combustion chambers in the No. 1,023,628, dated April 16, 1912. To heat the combustion chambers gas burners 9 are damper-s11.

The

provided at the forward end of the combustion chambers. The products of combustion from the chambers 7 are carried ofi through flues 10 from the combustion chambers proper and through the cooling tubes 8 and exit fines 10 from the latter. The exit flues 10 are provided with regulating Situated at the forward end of the kiln is the pre-heating chamber 6, which is shown as a cylindrical structure in the bottom of which is a platform or turntable 12, mounted on supporting wheels 13. The platform carries pairs of rails 14, and 15, the rails 1 1 being'at right angles torails 15.

Located within the chamber 6 is a vertical tube 18, the lower end of which connects with a flue 19 connected with the exhaust fines 10 and 10' from the combustion chambers 7. Connected to the flue 19 are hollow metallic wings 20, thelower'ends of which are connected through flues 21 to the interior of a drum 22 mounted on the platform 12 and rotating with the latter. The lower end of the drum 22 communicates with flue 23 which discharges into the atmosphere. It will be seen from the description that products of com'bustion passing through the tines 10, :19 and 19 into the fine 18 and thence through wings 20.

the chamber 6. An annular sand seal 31 surrounds the pipe 18 and anothersand seal '32 surrounds the ports communicating with see Fig. 3, are adapted to move. The tracks I 16 communicate at opposite ends of the furnace respectively with turn tables 26 and 27, The turn table 26 communicates at the forward end of the kiln with the tracks 17 and the turn table 27 at the rear end with tracks 24. A turn table 29 connects the tracks 27 to the return tracks 28 running to the preheating chamber 6. The preheating chamber is'provided with doors 30 at the positions A, B, G, D. Tn the preferred mode of operation contemplated A is the loading position; B the heating position; C the delivery position; D the car take on position. Assuming the door in position A to be open, the truck 25 can be loaded when in that position, or alternately, the truck lines 21 and drum 22 heat the interior of may be drawn out of the preheating chamber and loaded.

the truck 25 atrthe position 1) into the position A, and the trucks formerly in the position A into the position B. When the second truck is loaded and the-platform again rotates, the truck in the position B is carried into the position C,and then moved out of the preheating chamber-along the rails 17 on to turn table 26, then on to rails 16 and into the kiln, through the kiln to turn table 27, on to rails 2d the turn table 29, on to the rails28 and thence back into the preheating chamber through the door 30 at- D.

I do not limit myself to the exact way from heating means.

tracks to turntables" as described.- Other arrangements will suggest themselves which will beequally as desirableto obtain the re-- quired movements of the trucks. It will be observed that in'the arrangement disclosed the preheating chamber and kiln proper are so separated that-there is no con--' ters Patent, is:

1. The combination with a tunnel kiln and 1ts heating means, of an ndependent preheating chamber, together with means for heating the preheating chamber by the hot products of combustion from the kiln .2. The combination with "a tunnel-klln, of

V a rotary preheating chamber, together with means for heating said chamber with the waste heat from the kiln.

3. The combination with the tunnel kiln, having closed combustion chambers therein, of a preheating chamber so separated from the kiln that the atmospheric conditions in the kiln and preheating chamber are d1s-' continuous, and a heating device in said preheating chamber, together with means for connecting the interior of the combustion chambers of the kiln with the heating devicein the preheatingchamber.- I V I 4. The combination with a tunnel kiln, of "apreheating-chamber, means for heating the preheating chamber with waste heat from the kiln, together ,with intervening track ways and turn tables, and trucks thereon, Whereby truck'carried goods may be heated in the preliminary heating chamber, and progres- When the truck 'is' fully, loaded, the platform 12 is rotated in the direction of the arrows which brings.

nee eec sively moved through the kiln and backto the preliminary heating chamber.

5. The combination with a tunnel kiln, of a preliminary heating chamber having a series of doorways, a rotary platform and track ways thereon and external trackways connecting with the platform trackways through said doorways.

6. The combination with a tunnel kiln, of a combustion chamber situated at the forward'end of said k1ln,'means for introducmg gas 'and air into the forward end of said combustion chamber, a preheating chamber so separated from the kiln that the atmospheric conditions in the kiln and prcheatingchamher are discontinuous, means for introducing the waste heat from the tunnel kiln into the preheating chamber, a series of goods carrying trucks and means for introducing "said trucksprogressively into said preheatingcham'ber and moving them progressively out of said preliminary heating chamber into the tunnelkiln.v

7. The combination with a tunnel kiln, of a preliminary heating chamber comprising an enclosed rotary platform.

8. The combination with a tunnel kiln, of a preliminary heating chamber comprising an enclosed turntable, a heating device mounted on said turntable and a waste heat flue leading from said kiln and. connected to said heating device.

9. The combination with a tunnel kiln, of an auxiliary heating chamber comprising an enclosed turp table having track Way's crossing one another and! adapted to receive a plurality of goods carryingcars at a time, of heating means carried by said turntable with supply anddischarge connections passing centrally through the turn table, and a waste heat flue fromthe kiln communicating with said supply connection.

10. The combination with a tunnel kiln having a tra'ckway t-herethrough for goods 10 carrying cars, of trackways external to the kiln for returning said cars from the exit to the entrance end of the kiln and compris ing an enclosed turntable adapted to re ceive a plurality of cars at a time.

11.,7The combination with a tunnehkiln havinga trackway therethrough for goods carrying cars, of trackways external to the kiln for returning said cars from the exit to the entrance endof the kiln and compris- J15 ing an enclosed turntable adapted to receive a plurality of cars at a time, and means for heating the cars on said enclosed turntable.

I Signed at New Castle in the county of Y Lawrence and .Stateof Penna, this 20th day of March, A. D. 1920.

PAUL A. MEEHAN. 

